“Mr. Pinero holds that farce should treat of probable people placed in possible circumstances, but regarded from a point of view which exaggerates their sentiments and magnifies their foibles. In this light it is permitted to this class of play, not only to deal with ridiculous incongruities of incident and character, but to satirise society, and to wring laughter from those possible distresses of life which might trace their origin to fallacies of feeling and extravagances of motive.”

The 4th farce by Pinero – that the acts are labelled Debt, Difficulties, Disaster, and Dancing is about all you need to know about the so-called plot. (Introduction and ToddHW)

Alright, so you want to know more before you pick a part? Here are the last lines of each act:1 - [She rushes to him impulsively and flings her arms round his neck, at which the Dowager gives a cry of horror, and there is a general movement of astonishment.]2 - [There is a general expression of astonishment, and Lady Twombley sinks upon the settee.]3 - Do you? So do we. We’ll give you a lift. Come on! [They all hurry out.]4 - Ha, ha! Dance, pa, dance!

Gender neutral as always. Kitty is again our wonderful DPL.

I was recently asked by a reader for advice on how to act as a particular character. My answer: “I very honestly leave choice of accents and characterizations in any part up to the reader. One of the key pleasures of running a play here at Librivox is finding out what the various readers have decided is right. Usually some unexpected things, and always different than I had originally pictured the play on stage myself. So that the completed play is not my vision of what should be, but a truly new and exciting collaborative creation.”

Is there a deadline?We ask that you submit your recorded sections within 1-2 months of placing your claim. Please note that to be fair to the readers who have completed their sections in a timely way, if you haven't submitted your recording(s) after two months, your sections will automatically be re-opened for other readers to claim, unless you post in this thread to request an extension. Extensions will be granted at the discretion of the Book Coordinator. If you cannot do your section, for whatever reason, just let me know and it'll go back to the pool. There's no shame in this; we're all volunteers and things happen. Please do not sign up for more sections than you can complete within the two month deadline.

How to claim a part, and "how it all works" hereTo find a section to record, simply look at point 5. below at the sections. All the ones without names beside them are "up for grabs." Click "Post reply" at the top left of the screen and tell us which section you would like to read (include the section number from the left-most column in the reader list, please). Read points 6. to 8. below for what to do before, during and after your recording.

Please claim roles (the numbers in the first column below)! Please note: All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. When you submit your recording, you will be placing your recording in the public domain as well.

If this is your first recording, please let me know under which name or pseudonym you'd like to appear in the LibriVox catalogue. We can also link to a personal website/blog.

Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!

Magic Window:

When you read your voice credit, please include the entire title given in the MW. Thanks.=========================================== This paragraph is temporary and will be replaced by the MC with the list of sections and reader (Magic Window) once this project is in the admin system.

Make sure you add this to the beginning of your recording:[Role], read by [your name].

If you are reading stage directions, please include for each file:At the beginning: Act [#] of The Cabinet Minister, by Arthur Wing Pinero. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Librivox dot org.

At the end: End of Act [#].

Please remember to check this thread frequently for updates!

AFTER recordingSave files as 128 kbps MP3 cabinetminister_[role]_[#].mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the act number.

Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.

Welcome, Brooke. I wonder if people ever wrote that Wodehouse's characters look like they just stepped out of a Pinero play.... Back during The Schoolmistress I mentioned that while Pinero was a new playwright to me, I had just read a Ngaio Marsh murder mystery from the 1950's ("Death at the Vulcan") that takes place in a theater and the situation in the theater was compared by some of the characters to the actions in that play.

Long story short, I went bush this weekend, and have been out of range till now. Am currently sitting on a branch halfway up a gum tree on a hill top. The things we do for Librivox.

I'd like to put my hand up for the Joseph Lebanon role. Tall, dark and handsome, no doubt. Well I'm tall, and in the dark, I'm handsome.

"Recherché", huh? Well, laissez les bons temps rouler!

Todd, as ringmaster of our circus, has stated that, while he books the acts, he doesn't tell the acrobats which direction to jump. So, since I don't really do a London Jewish accent all that well, I'd like to do Joe Lebanon with my best slimy Australian con-man accent. The weaponised diphthongs will be a distinct change from Lukyn/Rankling/Mardon, I can assure you. I imagine Joe will sound sufficiently "common" as he tries to make the scene among the Beautiful People.

By the way, Lady Twombley clearly has a very hands-on approach as she gets to go the full GBH on my character this time.

Stage Directions: "[she seizes him by the throat, and shakes him violently]"

From "colourful racing identity" to "The Man They Couldn't Hang", in a matter of days. Sheesh!

woke up early...and this on a weekend. Well I see the casting is going brilliantly. Lady Twombley is happy to hear her blood-sucking moneylender is sitting in a precarious place. I should go to the gym to prepare for my hands-on scenes

Well I'm looking forward to listening to you all. So far the cast is brilliant.

Back to bed for another two hours...yes as Chris says: the things we do for LV.

Kitty (forum and stage name this time) and yes I'm pleased to have married a knight of St. George.

Camp made. On one of the saddles, so I guess I'm in line-of-sight to at least one tower on the ridgetops to the north.

BTW, a little tip for anyone travelling in areas with intermittent mobile phone coverage. Many phones, when they lose the signal, start making constantly repeated efforts to reacquire it. It runs the battery down very quickly. I turn my mobile phone off in these areas to prevent it doing this.

"The more I read, the stronger grows my desire to make Euphemia a regular Southern Belle."You're going to play her as an Aussie sheila? Yay! I say that because it don't get no souther than Australia.

"a knight of St. George.""I should go to the gym to prepare for my hands-on scenes."Todd, you don't think that your cheese-and-kisses is leaving herself open to nicknames like "Killer Kitty", do you? Or St George and the Dragon-Lady?

And I'd just like to reassure Todd and Kitty that Joe Lebanon knows how to talk with the upper set. Although I sound much clearer when I'm wearing the lower set too.

Joined: June 19th, 2017, 4:35 pmPosts: 632Location: Los Angeles, by way of New York City

Hi Todd!Is it OK to play two parts in this play? I already have Mrs. Gaylustre, but I would also like to play Angèle. It seems to be a very small part, and I speak French fluently, plus I can speak English with a French accent. I'll give her a completely different voice and personality from Mrs. Gaylustre, so they won't sound anything alike.Thank you!